Asia ferrous scrap plunges in Q1, virus bites

摘要

Singapore—The Asian ferrous scrap market turned bearish in the first quarter as regional mill demand was sapped by multiple countries suspending downstream construction and manufacturing activity due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the outlook for Q2 is currently equally grim. Container and bulk prices came under pressure immediately in the new year, coming off high price levels in December, as benchmark Turkish scrap prices turned bearish amid geopolitical tensions and weaker rebar prices. As the coronavirus pandemic escalated globally through February and March, containerized scrap prices into Taiwan fell 23% in Q1 from the previous quarter, while bulk prices in Japan fell 18% over the same period.